


A Normal Teenager

by whenautumncame (orphan_account)



Category: MCU
Genre: Anxiety, Bonding, Crushes, F/F, F/M, Female Reader, Flash is a dick, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Multi, Non-human, Orphan Reader, Other, Post-Civil War, Slow Burn, Training, fluff and lots of it, im out of tags, nerds, new avenger, post-Homecoming, teenage avengers, teenage crushes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-07-07 05:42:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15902043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/whenautumncame
Summary: When a unique teenage girl is plucked off of the streets by Tony Stark and recruited as an Avenger, she has finally found a home and a family. To help her become accustomed to regular life, Tony sends her to live with Aunt May and her newfound best friend, Peter Parker. As she learns to harness her abilities on the field, she also learns how to be a normal teenager. But will this friendship with Peter Parker turn out to be something more?-new chapters on Tuesdays-





	1. The Streets of New York

**Author's Note:**

> hello loves :)
> 
> so hahah i was writing a Loki/Reader fic for a whike and a couple of days ago the whole thing had to be deleted cause of a virus, and upon trying to reupload it i found out that I could not. And god knows i do not have the patience to rewrite that entire thing. So here's me trying my hand at a fic with another one of my fictional crushes, Peter Parker.
> 
>  
> 
> hope you guys like it. let me know what you think in the comments.

I remember it distinctly. It was a chilly day - the twenty-second of September, to be exact. I was wandering around Manhattan for the thousandth time. Having lived in Queens for sixteen years, the mother of my orphan home, Mrs. Roland, never let me go anywhere outside of Queens. But of course, I never listened.  
With abilities like mine, I didn't have to.

The beauty of the city still left me in awe every time I wandered those streets, though. The way the sun shined against the buildings. The honks of the taxi horns and the yells of the street vendors. The people. Oh, the people. Always bustling and scurrying about like little ants on a mission to bring back something to their queen. 

And Stark Tower. My favorite building in the city. The building that housed the heroes that I had seen save my city so many years ago, or at least it did. It was empty and abandoned now, since the Avengers had broken up and moved upstate. But I still loved to look at it. To imagine what conversations had took place there. To wish i was one of them. 

I was disturbed from my daydream by a violet shoulder-slam which sent me flying to the pavement below. I heard my head crack as it hit the pavement.  
"Oh, Jesus, I'm so sorry, kid." a man's voice said above me. I clenched my eyes at the pain that shot through my head. "It's fine." i growled, sitting up. People continued to bustle around us like nothing had happened. The man, clad in a black suit and almost obnoxious sunglasses, held a hand out to me. I grabbed it, standing up.  
"You sure you're okay? Should I call an ambulance or something?" He asked, sounding impatient.  
"I'm fine." I repeated, rubbing my throbbing head.  
I took a quick look at the man. That was what I had trained myself to do - to assess people. Friend or foe.  
A half second in to my assessment, I realized who this man was. Tony Stark.  
Iron Man.  
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." i said, using unnecessary hand motions.  
"It's my fault, kid. Look, I gotta be somewhere in about ten minutes. Walk with me." he said, walking towards the crosswalk. I quickly realized that it was a command, not a suggestion, and followed suit.  
"Are you sure you're okay? That was a pretty tough fall you had there." he said, his eyes on the road ahead.  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, sir. It happens all the time."  
What? Why would I say that? That never happens! In fact, that would be the first time I had been pushed to the ground by a billionaire in the middle of the street.  
"I swear I heard your skull crack or someth-"  
A truck that had obviously ignored a red light came flying towards us, sending smaller cars spiraling to get out of its way. Before I could even register what I was doing, I grabbed onto Stark and teleported us both to the sidewalk. The truck swerved around a car, crashing into the nearest light pole.  
Realizing what i had done, i quickly looked around. Everyone's attention seemed to be focused on the wreck and not me. Thank God.  
"What was that?" Mr. Stark asked, sounding almost panicked.  
"I-I don't know, I, um, that truck was-was coming at us, and i ran you over here." I managed to say.  
"No, no, no. You, you teleported."  
"What? No, that's crazy." I replied, lying terribly.  
"No, you teleported, that's for sure. Is that a power? Do you have powers?" he said, his eyes widening beneath his sunglasses.  
"Shh! Shush! God, the whole world's gonna hear you!" I fussed. Lowering my voice, I told him the truth.  
"Yes, okay, I teleported. It's my only 'power'."  
I usually referred to it as my ability, but whatever.  
Tony Stark knew i could teleport. He was the only one.  
God, this was a mess.  
"Friday, cancel my meeting." Mr. Stark said into his watch. "You're coming with me."

-

A half hour later, and I was in a car on the way to the Avengers' new facility.  
This was all I had ever wanted. To finally meet Tony Stark, for him to discover how amazing I am, and name me an honorary Avenger. And yet, i was nervous. So nervous. Like somehow I was gonna screw everything up.  
Sitting awkwardly in Mr. Stark's car, I felt underdressed. I was wearing my Harvard sweatshirt, skinny jeans, and chucks, which i thought was fine, until I realized who I was going to meet. Quickly, I pulled my sleeves down over my bruised and scabbed knuckles.  
Putting down his phone, he turned to me.  
"Tell me about yourself, kid."  
"Oh, okay. Um, my name's Y/N, I'm sixteen years of age. I live at an orphanage in Queens. Obviously, I have - I mean, I can, I can teleport." I said. It felt so weird to be saying it out loud.  
"Does anyone else know you can do that?" he asked.  
"No, sir. Just you."  
"Hm. And you never use those powers to help people?"  
"Uh, no sir. Just keeping myself safe. I'd prefer not to end up in some government facility, being experimented on. And-and you guys do that stuff, right?"  
He chuckled weakly. "Right."

The scenery outside faded from city to country quickly as Mr. Stark continued the questionnaire.  
"You go to school?" he asked.  
"Uh, yes, sir. I go to Midtown."  
"Really?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"Interesting."  
The car rolled to a stop as a huge garage door began to open. We pulled in, parked, and got out.  
"You know how to fight, Y/N?" he asked. I followed him into the building.  
I tried not to chuckle. "Ahem, somewhat."  
"What does that mean?"  
"I, I know some basics." A bit more than basics, actually.  
"Show me."

I followed all the way to what seemed to be a really large training room.  
"I'm not in the right clothes." I complained, trying to find a way out of this.  
"That'll be fine. You'll be sparring with Sam." he said, gesturing to the tall black man that has just entered the room.  
"You want me to fight a little girl?" he asked, frowning at Mr. Stark. It took all I had not to say "I'm not a little girl, and I've kicked many a grown man's ass."  
"Take it easy on her. There's no one else for her to spar with."  
He raised an eyebrow at me, then shrugged. "Alright then."  
I tied my hair into a ponytail. The guy i was fighting smirked. "Don't worry, I'll take it easy on ya." As if i hadn't heard what Mr. Stark had said.  
Standing in a fighting position. I tensed up. Mr. Stark wanted to see me spar, he would sure as hell see it. The cocky look on this guy's face was enough to make me wanna do it alone.  
Stepping forward, I jabbed sharply at his exposed abdomen. He stepped back, then lunged forward, socking me in the shoulder.  
I dodged a couple of weak punches, landing a few good ones myself.  
"Come on, dude, don't take it so easy on me." i said, bored by this pathetic sparring. He lifted an eyebrow, but agreed.  
The punches came quicker and harder, but so did mine. With every blow of my fist, pain shot up my arms from the unhealed bruises.  
He jabbed me in the stomach, which almost made me double over. I regained my composure, and while he was attempting to do it again, I quickly drew a foot towards his face, sending him to the floor.  
"Basics?" Tony called. I smirked despite my aching hands. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"  
"You wouldn't want to know." I replied, helping Sam up off the floor.  
"Nice job, kid." He groaned, rubbing a hand against his back.  
"Follow me." Mr. Stark said. Wiping my forehead with my sleeve, i did so. He led me up into what I guessed was his office.  
"So kid, you're pretty talented."  
I felt myself blush. "Thanks."  
"And I think you would make a useful addition to our... junior team."  
"Junior team?" I tried not to sound disappointed.  
"Well, see, you can't exactly be an Avenger, number one, because you're sixteen and have no experience, and number two, we have another younger hero, and i think you two would get along well."  
Although what he said made complete sense, i was pissed. A junior Avenger? That sounds like a program at a school to get you to do community service.  
"You'll be able to stay and train with us until you're deemed ready for the field."  
Sighing, i let my anger subside. Here, I could actually learn how to fight, how to harness my powers, how to help people. I'd have a home, a family. And I'd do anything to get away from that chaotic hellpit of an orphanage.  
I sighed again. "Fine."  
"Mr. Stark?" a young voice called from the hallway.  
"Kid? In here, there's someone i want you to meet." Mr. Stark replied.  
A teenage boy with brown hair and a yellow shirt stumbled in.  
"Sorry, I just tripped." He said, laughing.  
I smiled at his goofy first impression.  
"Hi, I'm Y/N." i said, holding out my hand.  
"Don't you go to Midtown?" He asked, still holding my hand.  
"Yeah, i do."  
"Oh, cool. I'm Peter, by the way."  
"He's Spiderman."


	2. A Place To Call Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took so much self control not to post this earlier but I said I'm posting on Tuesdays so here you go 
> 
> Thank you for all the positive feedback - please let me know what you think in the comments :) thanks luvs

Spiderman.  
I had been watching Youtube videos of him ever since he started helping out around the city. One time i had actually seen him in action - it was about a year ago, on the Long Island Ferry. I was on it when it split in half and he held it together. I had pretty much idolized him since then.  
I gasped. "No way."  
He smirked.  
"Okay, not to be weird or anything, but I'm a little bit of a fan." I said.  
He turned to Tony. "Mr. Stark, I have fans!" he said excitedly.  
"I've been trying to figure out who you are since the Ferry incident!" i said, resisting the major urge to hug him. "Well, now you know. But-but you can't tell anyone, you know that, right?"  
"Yeah, yeah, of course."  
"Oh, you have cool eyes. Are they different colors?" he asked.  
"Yeah, this one's brown, and this one's orange." I replied, pointing to my eyes.  
"Okay, okay, enough with the chitchat. You'll be able to talk a lot more later. Why are you here, kid?" he asked Peter.  
"Oh, Happy wasn't answering his phone, and he said not to call you, so i figured I'd just swing down and come talk to you."  
"So what's up?"  
"Uh, there's a malfunction with my suit, and i couldn't get Ned to fix it so..."  
I faded into the background as a bunch of technical talk began and picked at my chipped nails.  
"Y/N, you live at an orphanage?" Mr. Stark said abruptly. I looked up. "Oh, uh, yeah, just a little one in Queens."  
"Let's go."  
"Right now?"  
"Yes, right now. The suit can be fixed remotely, Parker, so you can take it. Actually, come with us."  
Peter's face lit up. "Yeah, okay."

-

"Y/N, where have you been?" Mrs. Roland hissed as i walked in. Her face went from angry to angel in about 0.2 seconds once she saw Mr. Stark. "Tony Stark! What a surprise!" she said, her voice so sweet it made my head ache.  
"Mrs. Roland?"  
"Yes, that's me."  
They began to trade niceties while Peter talked to me.  
"Wow, she, uh, didn't seem very happy when you walked in." he whispered.  
"Katherine's bark is a lot bigger than her bite. Like last week, I was going to cut my own hair, but one of the little brats here ratted me out and she threatened to leave me bald."  
"Well, won't she take you to a barber or something?" he asked.  
"No! That's why my hair is so long. I've actually cut it multiple times before, but just enough so that she wouldn't notice."  
"She sounds terrible."  
"You learn to live with it."  
I looked over to the counter where they were standing and Mrs. Roland was laughing. "Oh, Tony, you're such a charmer." she giggled.  
"Now what I'm really here to talk to you about is Y/N." he said.  
She shot a look of ice in my direction. "Really?"  
"Yes. I'd like to take guardianship of her."  
My heart leaped within me. It was finally happening. I was being adopted. And by a billionaire, no less.  
Mrs. Roland seemed relieved and surprised at the same time. "You-you want to adopt Y/N?" She stuttered.  
"Take guardianship."  
Peter glanced at me. "Sweet!" He whispered.  
"I should probably warn you though, she's quite a bit of trouble. She's always disappearing and never telling me where she's going. And when she is here she's always pranking the others. And me." She said, putting on her best victim face.  
"I don't think that'll be a problem." Mr. Stark replied, glancing at me. I smiled prettily.  
"Uh... Alright then, i'll go get the papers."  
I walked over to where Mr. Stark was sitting. "You're seriously doing this?"  
"Well, we don't want you locked up in a government facility, being experimented on, do we?"  
"So, am I gonna live with you or something?" I asked quietly.  
"Uh... we'll figure that out." he replied.

I began to whistle "It's a Hard Knock Life" as Mrs. Roland returned. She flashed evil eyes at me. "Here are the papers, Mr. Stark." She said, her voice like honey. Poisonous, deathly honey.  
I turned to her. "You know, Katherine, it's been a long journey, and I, I really think our relationship has grown. We've bonded and now we're stronger than ever." I said, crossing my fingers. "You're a little shit, you know that?" she hissed under her breath. I clutched my heart. "Oh Katherine, nothing you could have said would have meant more. Really, brought tears to my eyes." I wiped away a fake tear as Tony finished the papers. I winked at Mrs. Roland.  
"So that'll be it?"  
"Well, um, you'll need a full background check, and we'll have to get it finalized in court, but yes, for now, that's it." She replied.  
"Don't worry, hon, I'll handle all the government stuff." Mr. Stark replied. "Go get your stuff, kid."  
I ran upstairs and quickly grabbed my suitcase and a couple of things off of my bed and nightstand. I kept that suitcase ready for when i finally decided to run, or should I say, teleport away.  
I stopped, gazing around the room. There was no one to say goodbye to, no friend that i would miss.  
But it didn't matter, because I finally had a family. A friend.  
Rushing back downstairs, i met Mr. Stark and Peter with a grin.  
I blew a kiss to Mrs. Roland, and finally left the orphanage.

-

"So what's the living situation?" I asked once we were all in the car.  
"Uh, I actually... Let's stop by Parker's house first." He answered.  
We finally made it to Peter's apartment. I don't know why it was insisted that I came in, but I was curious, so I didn't refuse.  
Peter opened the door and i followed behind Mr. Stark.  
"Hey Peter, how was sch- oh! Hey Tony!" I heard a woman say.  
"Oh, who's this?" She asked as i peeked out from behind Mr. Stark. "I'm Y/N." I said, holding out my hand. She shook it, raising her eyebrows at Peter.  
"May, I was hoping I could talk to you about something."  
"Uh, yeah, okay. Why don't you kids go into Peter's room and hang out for a bit?" She suggested. Peter and i glanced at each other, nodded, and I followed him to his room.

It was small, and decorated with random pop culture posters and knicknacks. Better than what I had.  
"So, you going to Harvard?" He asked, pointing to my gray sweatshirt.  
"Oh." I laughed. "No, no. This was given to me. A nice idea, though."  
"Well, why don't you?"  
I began to pick at my nails. "I... I don't know. It just never seemed like something I could do."  
"If you want to, then you should at least try. I've seen you at lunch. You're always reading, like, classic kind of stuff. I think you're smart enough."  
I coughed. "Uh, well, what about you? You're practically a genius." I replied, trying to direct the attention away from me.  
He chuckled. "Thanks."  
"You make your own web stuff?"  
"Yep."  
"Cool, cool. Hey, you wanna eavesdrop?"  
"I thought you'd never ask."  
We pressed our ears up against the door.  
"Tony, I'm not just going to take in some random girl you found on the street. She could be dangerous. Plus, this isn't a group home for kids with superpowers!"  
We glanced at each other. "Is Mr. Stark trying to get you to live with us?" Peter asked. "I don't know." I replied.  
"May, I promise she's not dangerous. She saved my life today. I won't ask any more favors from you, ever."  
"I just don't think it's a good idea."  
"She needs a family. She's already friends with Peter, and we both know he needs more of those."  
I held back laughter at the offended look on Peter's face.  
"...and i have technical guardianship over her, which means I'll be checking in all the time, and you won't even have to support her yourself. I'll pay for everything."  
Silence.  
"All she needs is a room."  
A sigh. "Fine."  
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Looks like I'm living with you now."  
May began to lay out rules and conditions while I processed what just happened. Mr. Stark took guardianship of me, but then decided to dump me on some people I had known for less than twenty-four hours? I mean, May seemed nice, and Peter was really cool, but it was disappointing. I thought that i was gonna live with Tony, in the facility, training.  
But this was better than nothing, I guess.

"You can come out now!" May called.  
"Y/N, you're going to be staying here for a little bit." Mr. Stark said. Peter and I pretended to act surprised. "Really?"  
"I'll be coming to check in on you all the time, and we'll train. You won't have to worry about switching schools, too, since you both go to Midtown." Mr. Stark said.  
"Mrs. May, I-"  
"Please, call me Aunt May."  
"Oh, um, Aunt May, thank you so much for letting me stay with you. I promise i won't be a burden, I'll help clean up and cook dinner and everything." I said.  
She smiled kindly. "You're welcome. I appreciate it. Let me show you the guest bedroom." 

It was small, with dark blue walls and a completely white bed. The window had a perfect view of the city, though.  
"Aunt May, I just want to thank you again, i haven't had a real home since i was five, and that only lasted a few weeks cause-"  
"Honey, you don't need to thank me. I mean, at first i was reluctant, but I'm going to do everything in my power to make you feel at home."  
Her warm smile and kind eyes settled the bubble of anxiety rising in my chest.  
"I guess you should go say goodbye to Tony, then."  
"Oh, I should." 

Mr. Stark and Peter were quietly chatting when I came back in. "All settled?" Stark asked.  
"Yep. I'm all good."  
"I'm going to Nepal on a business trip for the next week, so I'll check in on you as soon as I'm back, okay?"  
"Great."  
There was an awkward moment where i wasn't sure if he was going to hug me or not. He patted my shoulder lightly.  
"See ya later, kid." Alright, close enough. Not that i was a fan of physical contact, anyway.

I took a quick look around. I had a family. A friend.  
A place to call home.


	3. Emotional Rollercoaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I said I would post Tuesdays but I really wanted to post so this will NOT replace your regular Tuesday postings :)
> 
> A little bit about the author:  
> -she has little to no friends (on her own accord)  
> -she has a crush on too many fictional characters  
> -she is really impatient and wants to post 17 chapters a week but is learning self-control  
> -she loves dogs  
> -she has a mean and sarcastic sense of humor  
> -she is going to jam-pack vine references into this fanfic  
> -she plans to have written a novel by the end of it  
> -she likes Gravity Falls  
> -she is a sophomore  
> -she talks about herself in the third person occasionally
> 
> A question for you:  
> -who's your favorite MCU character of all time?
> 
> This chapter I'll be incorporating some of the personal fears and anxiety-causing things I have... Because let's be real, we're all tired of the picture-perfect characters with no physical or emotional flaws.
> 
> let me know what you think in the comments, thanks loves :)

I swear i was going to break my knuckles from the amount of times I cracked them out of anxiety. I don't know why i was anxious. When i fought, i was never nervous. But for some reason, spending a calm evening eating pizza and watching The Godfather with a kid and his aunt sent my brain into panic mode.

"Are you sure you don't need any help cleaning up?" I asked Aunt May. "I'm sure. Go hop in the shower or something." She answered, patting my head lightly.  
Having already unpacked my things, I grabbed what I needed and headed to the bathroom, singing the FRIENDS theme song. The light was on, but the door was unlocked, so i opened the door and walked in. The shrill scream of a teenage boy, followed by a loud thud, pierced my ears. Accidently catching a glance at his abs, I quickly ran out and closed the door before I could see anything else.  
"I'm sorry!" I yelled over the running water, which i had obviously not payed attention to before.  
"It's okay." Peter replied weakly. 

Embarassment washed over me like a wave, sending blood rushing to my cheeks. I had just walked in on my favorite hero in the shower.  
"A-are you okay?" I asked, immediately regretting my decision to say something else.  
"I'm fine, I think." he replied, shutting the water off.  
"Uh, okay, I guess I'll just, um..."  
I scurried off to my room before I could make another stupid comment.

Way to make a good first impression. I hadn't even been there 24 hours and i had almost seen Peter naked. Fantastic.

As I peeked my head out my door to see if he was finished, the bathroom door opened.  
"Y/N?" Peter asked, his cheeks burning red.  
My mismatched eyes popped out from behind the doorframe. "Yeah?"  
"You-you can use the shower now." He waddled out in full Star Wars pajamas.  
I walked out, holding my stuff. "Oh, okay, thanks." I replied awkwardly.  
"Um, don't worry about walking in on me. Aunt May does it all the time. Really, it's no big deal." He said, fiddling with the deodorant he was holding.  
"Okay... Are you sure? Cause I felt like it was awkward."  
"No, it was definitely awkward. Gotta love those bonding experiences."  
He laughed, which soothed the grating of anxiety against my sanity.  
"Thanks. That makes me feel better." I replied, a soft smile spreading across my face.  
"We've got school tomorrow, so don't stay up too late." He said, passing me in the hall.  
"Alright, mom." I retorted, smiling. 

-

The next morning had moved so quickly I could hardly process what was happening. May woke me up. I put on my favorite outfit and some makeu, hoping to make a good impression as i was going to be meeting some new people today. People that i saw every day, but regularly ignored.  
Aunt May made some really delicious pancakes, which i only got a few bites of, because I overslept and Peter was rushing me out the door. And now i was on the bus sitting next to Peter. 

"You okay, Y/N?" He asked. I turned away from the window. "Yeah, I'm just a little nervous." I replied quietly.  
"Why? You've been going here."  
"I know, I know, but now I'm kind of friends with you, which means i have to meet your other friends, which makes me nervous because I don't talk to people very much."  
"Well, you won't have to be too nervous... I dont have that many friends."  
Despite his poor attempt at comforting me, I still had a bubble of anxiety in the pit of my stomach. At school, I didn't have friends. I didn't talk to anyone. I kept my head down and I read at lunch. The school counselor was probably my only friend, and I only told her so much. But today, that was changing. I worried about how I looked. I wondered what i was gonna say. It was like the first day of middle school all over again.  
I had learned to stop caring in eighth grade.

The bus came to a lurching stop, sending my head into the seat in front of me. Peter stifled laughter as i rubbed my forehead. "Ha ha, so funny." I said sarcastically.  
As we walked towards the school, a fancy car screeched into the parking space closest to the school. The sign in front of it read "Reserved for Flash Gordon."  
"Penis Parker! What's up?" He yelled, hopping out of the car. I had seen him around before. Usually being a dick.  
Peter stared him down, obviously showing that this happened too often.  
"Ooh, who's this? Did Penis Parker finally get a girlfriend?" He looked me up and down. "Nah, she's out of your league."  
Peter rolled his eyes as Flash sauntered up to me.  
"Flash." He said, winking ans crossing his arms over his chest.  
"I'm Y/N." I replied shortly.  
"New here?" He asked.  
"I've been going here for two years." i replied crossly, his narcissistic attitude pissing me off.  
"Oh." He scanned me one more time. "You know, you shouldn't have to hang out with losers like Parker. You're welcome at my table anytime." He winked again.  
He strolled off before I could come up with a good and explicit comeback.  
"Don't mind him, he's a jerk." Peter said, continuing to walk towards the school.  
"Im gonna kick him in the balls next time he..." I muttered.

The screams, smells, and assorted noises of high school flooded my senses as we entered the hallway.  
"This bitch empty!" A kid yelled.  
"YEET!" the hallway replied in unison. An empty soda can flew past my head.  
"Ugh, teenagers." I growled.  
"You are a teenager." Peter laughed.  
"I know, i just don't like other ones." 

I followed Peter to his locker, where we met a kid with a Back To The Future t-shirt and a fedora.  
"Hey Ned." Peter said, greeting him with a complicated handshake.  
Noticing that I had been standing there, mouth slightly ajar at the handshake, he turned to me.  
"Who's this?" He asked.  
"Oh, this is Y/N. She lives with us now." Peter stated simply.  
"I'm Ned Leeds." We shook hands quickly. "So you just, like, moved in? Is he your cousin or something?" He asked me.  
I turned to Peter for an explanation. "Uh, Mr. Stark kind of adopted her and is stashing her at our place." Peter stated quietly.  
"Wow. Talk about daddy issues." Ned said, laughing to himself. Peter glared at him, which made him stop laughing. "Sorry." he said lowly.  
"Cool to meet you, Y/N." Ned said, tipping his fedora. "I'm off."  
"Sorry about Ned. Sometimes he just says stuff without thinking."  
"Peter, you don't need to apologize for everyone. I'm a big girl, i can handle my emotions." I replied, chuckling.  
"Okay, well... you should probably get to class."  
I realized that I had forgotten about the classes i took every day. "Right, right. See you at lunch?"  
"Yep."

-

Lunch was always the hardest part of the day. As long as i could make it to my table, i was fine, but getting there without touching or talking to anyone was like trying to drive on Rainbow Road without dying.  
As soon as i got my tray, i scanned the room for Peter. I didn't see him, but i saw Ned sitting at a table with one other girl, so I figured that was his usual table. Locking my eyes on my target, I moved strategically through the cafeteria, avoiding both Flash and the horde of kids looking for somewhere to sit. 

"Hey Y/N!" someone called. Thinking it was Peter, i turned around. Flash was waving from his table. "Ditch those dorks! Come sit with us!" He yelled. Suddenly too many eyes were on me. Now was the perfect time to use the comeback i had planned. "I'd rather sit with the dorks than have to endure a bunch of egotistical, arrogant dicks such as yourself."  
My heart beat quickly inside my chest as the crowd issued a quiet "Ooh."  
His face scrunched up in disapproval and embarrassment. He opened his mouth to say something, but sat back down.  
The cafeteria eyed me with respect as i sat next across from Ned.  
"I like you, Y/N." He said, snickering.  
"Michelle." The girl said, sliding next to Ned and holding out her hand. I shook it gingerly. "You got some balls on you, kid." She said, eyeing Flash.  
Peter sat down next to me, setting his tray on the table. "What happened?"  
"Y/N totally told off Flash." Ned replied.  
"I think you might regret that." Peter commented, picking at his mashed potatoes.  
"If he has a problem, he can catch these hands in the parking lot." I declared, flaunting my newfound confidence.  
"Damn, okay." Michelle said, laughing.  
"Wasn't it like, three hours ago that you were having a nervous breakdown?" Peter whispered.  
"It varies from moment to moment."

-

After what i deemed a fairly successful day at school, I was talking outside with my new friends when my phone buzzed.  
Caller ID identified it as Mr. Stark.  
"No, Betty actually said that it was a frog." Ned said. The group burst into laughter. "Uh, one sec, guys." I said, walking away as i accepted the call.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey, kid, it's Tony."  
"Hey... How did you get my number?"  
"It wasn't that hard, believe me."  
"Um... Okay. is something wrong?" I asked him.  
"Nope, just checking in. Pepper suggested that i do that more."  
"Oh, cool, cool, cool."  
"How was school?"  
It felt so weird to have someone checking on me after getting by on my own for so long. Especially Tony Stark. I had always assumed he was a hard-love, cold kind of guy.  
"It was fine. I made some friends."  
"Good. How was your first night at May's?"  
"Fine."  
Silence.  
"Listen, Mr. Stark, can I ask you something?"  
"Yeah, sure."  
"Why... Why did you adopt me after knowing me for less than a day? And then send me to live with some random people? I mean, I really appreciate the adoption part, but i thought that you were actually gonna take care of me, and, I don't know... Be, like, my dad or something." I gushed. I walked farther away from the group so they couldn't hear the emotions suddenly spilling out of me.  
He sighed quietly. "Honestly, kid, I don't know. It was sort of an impulse decision. The thing is... You remind me a lot of me. And seeing how powerful you could be, i didn't want you to end up like a few other people i know. Like me. So I took you in. As for the staying with Parker part, I couldn't have you stay with me. I'm gone a lot, plus having you with me would attract not only unwanted attention but danger as well. So i put you in a safe house of sorts. Let you live a normal life. A while back, i knew someone like you, and it... It didn't turn out so well. I want to protect you. There's just something about you that... That makes me feel like a father."  
Unchecked tears blurred my vision. "So I'm not just another kid in your protection program?" I asked, trying to keep my voice clear.  
"Not at all. And like I said, I'll check in on you as much as possible."  
"Okay." I said softly.  
"Now i gotta go, kid. I'll talk to you tomorrow."  
"Okay." 

I sucked in a breath, clearing my throat as I ended the call and walked back over to the group waiting for the bus.  
"Are you okay?" Peter asked quietly.  
I smiled. "Yeah, I'm good."  
The others eyed me with suspicion. "Today's just been an emotional rollercoaster."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah ok so this was mostly filler but i just felt like writing today so  
> @the_seven_mortal_instruments your comment inspired the chapter title so bless you  
> Like I said this will NOT substitute Tuesdays posting


	4. Fight Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My birthday is this Saturday!!!
> 
> Posting a day early cause I can and i want to :)
> 
> Special shoutout to the_seven_mortal_instruments for being such a wonderful hype person, bless you child
> 
> leave a comment in the comment section and make my day

Apparently, Ned and Michelle were permanent residents of the living room couches on the weekends. Not that I minded. It was fun having them around.

Ned was a pretty easygoing guy. Really funny, but sometimes he pushed May over the edge with his crude and middle school-esque humor. He made us Spaceballs twice in one night and laughed his ass off the whole time.

Michelle was a lot harder to figure out. She seemed like a tough, emotionless kind of person, but was actually relatively nice to me. She was always reading, and was an amazing sketch artist. She perfectly captured me asleep on the dining room table after a long day at school.

Peter was a fun guy, for the most part. Occasionally he'd get really serious or quiet, like when he'd come back from fighting crime. He really, really liked The Lord of The Rings, considering he made me sit down and watch all of them after I said I'd never seen them. He was good-tempered and funny and a good friend.

I was categorizing all three of them in my head when i was snapped from my thoughts.   
"Y/N." Peter said.  
"Hm?"  
"You're staring at us with this dreamy look in your eye." Ned answered.  
"Oh, sorry, just thinking."   
"This is the best Chinese food I've ever had." Michelle said, taking a bite of orange chicken.   
"Well, I sure hope so, I had to pay thirty-five dollars for it." Peter replied.  
"Thirty-five dollars?"  
"It was that new place in Chinatown."  
"That explains why it took you so long to get it." MJ complained.  
"The line was out the door."

"Hey kids." May said, her keys jingling as she walked through the door.  
"Hey Aunt May." We answered collectively.   
"You two staying here tonight?" She asked, pointing at Michelle and Ned.  
"You know us so well." Michelle replied, smiling sweetly.  
"I figured, so I went ahead and rented Jaws."

My phone buzzed.   
"Fight. $600. You know where." It read.   
Shit. I had planned to stop doing these when i moved in. But I had missed a good fight... And the money wouldn't hurt.  
"Who ya texting?" Ned said, trying to peer over my screen. I clicked the power button. "Oh, um... No one. I had signed up for an improv class a few weeks ago, and I, uh, completely forgot about it... Apparently our first class is tonight. I'll have to miss out on Jaws." I said, trying to come up with something quick.  
"You don't seem like the kind of person who would like improv." Peter said, his eyebrows lifted.  
"See, that's the thing, I act so well that you would never even notice."  
He shrugged.  
"How are you getting there?" Aunt May asked.   
"The subway."   
She eyed me with suspicion.   
"I know self-defense." I added.  
She sighed. "Okay, go."

I went into my room and changed into some gym shorts and a t-shirt and tied my hair into a ponytail.  
"You sure you're not going to the gym?" Peter asked once I came back out.  
"I'm sure. I'll see you guys in a bit." I said, swinging my lanyard as I walked out the door.

-

The subway was mostly empty, giving it an eerie vibe especially since it was only ten o' clock at night. But the less eyes on me, the better.

Finally I approached the grafitti-covered garage. The man at the entrance gave me an odd look.  
"Oh, come on, Doug, you know it's me."  
He pulled his cigarette away from his mouth, blowing out a puff of smoke.  
I sighed. "The weather was a bit cloudy today, don't you think?"  
He nodded, opening the door hidden behind him.  
The sound of cheering and hard punches being landed flooded my ears. It sounded a little bit like high school.  
"Oh, good, you're here. I wasn't sure if you were gonna show up." A grating voice said behind me.  
I turned from the crowd to a face I had seen too often.  
"Well, Chris, I'm here."  
"This is a good one. Big guy, undefeated for the past couple rounds, we've got $700 on him right now." He spilled, his beady green eyes darting back and forth between the crowd and me.   
"Alright. Shouldn't be too hard." I replied, cracking my knuckles and walking towards the makeshift ring.  
"Thank you, my gorgeous little moneymaker." He said, pecking my cheek. 

A final blow from the significantly larger man sent the other to the ground, his face bloodied and swollen.  
The man roared, raising his hands in victory.  
"Who will challenge me next?" He demanded, sounding like a gladiator.  
"I will." I said, my voice barely reaching above the hollering crowd. I pushed past the people hustle around and stepped onto the ring.  
He laughed obnoxiously. "You, little girl?" Like i hadn't heard this speech a thousand times before.  
"Yes, me little girl." I replied, rolling my eyes.  
His eyes widened in surprise.   
"Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you." I said, chuckling at the confused faces in the crowd.   
"Kid, you know this is just hand-to-hand, you could get seriously hurt." He said, lowering his voice. That's cute. Compassion.  
I smiled sweetly. "I know what I'm doing."   
Shaking his head, he stood in a fighting stance.   
"Aaaaaand go!" Chris yelled from the side of the ring.   
The man didn't seem to know what to do. That was what made it easiest.  
Taking him by surprise, I jumped up and hooked his face. No defense.   
He stumbled backwards, shaking his head.   
"C'mon, dude, I don't have all day." I said, ready to strike.   
"Alright then." He replied, a look of determination crossing his face. He straightened, holding his hands up, and began to swing.  
Using the judo I had learned, I absorbed the energy from the punches i couldn't dodge and used it to return a hit, recovering as quickly as possible. Unexciting punches were thrown and returned for a minute or two.  
Getting slightly, I went for his face, leaving my stomach exposed for him to jab. His powerful punch sent me to the floor.   
"Oof." Chris said. The pain caused a surge of anger to burst through me, adrenaline making my heart beat out of my chest. I jumped up.   
He threw a weak punch, aimed at nothing. I jabbed him twice in the stomach, making him double over, then right hooked him in the jaw. His face scrunched up in pain as I swept my leg against his, sending him to the floor.  
Seeing how hard he hit his head against the cold floor, he didn't get up. 

The crowd hollered, a few of them confused but excited. Chris jumped over the ring, handing me a little towel.  
"That was amazing!" He yelled, holding my hand up in victory.  
I dabbed my face with the towel.  
"It's almost as if you've got superhuman strength or something."  
I chuckled weakly. Almost.  
He handed me the roll of cash. "You're gonna do another one, right?" He asked.  
"No, Chris, I'm going home."  
"Y/N, since when have you ever only done one fight? And went home at eleven o'clock?" He asked, sounding hurt.   
"I have responsibilities." I replied, tucking the money in my pocket.   
"That's new. Fine. But don't think you're done doing these." He growled into my ear.  
"Our newest champion will be returning next time! Next up, we have..." Chris announced the following fighters to the disappointed crowd. I got out of there as soon as I could.

Although it felt good to kick ass, I couldn't risk Tony or Aunt May finding out. Not to mention Chris finding out what I can really do and taking advantage of it, or worse - turning me over to the government.

-

Opening the door a half an hour later, I found everyone on the couch snuggled up with a pillow or blanket.  
"How was improv?" May asked sleepily. "Fine." I replied.   
"What's that on your mouth?" she questioned, pointing.   
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand to see blood streaked across it.   
"Uh, just some jam, we had toast afterwards." I replied, counting on the darkness in the room to aid my lie.  
"Toast? That's an odd snack to serve at a function."  
"Yeah, the guy who organized it is a little weird." I replied, heading to my room to change. 

May obviously wasn't that good at detecting lies, but I wasn't so sure about Peter. He eyed me with suspicion as I passed him in the living room. Ned was asleep and MJ on her phone, so I didn't have to worry about them. Peter knew better than to believe some half-assed lie I came up with in 2.5 seconds. 

I came back out in comfy pajamas after checking my face and hands for any more noticeable cuts.   
"Hey." Peter said as I sat down next to him.  
"Hey."  
"You really missed out tonight - Michelle lectured Ned on the Importance of recycling the Chinese boxes instead of throwing them away."  
"Sounds moving. Did you at least record it?"  
"Ned passed out just as I was about to."  
I laughed lightly as to not wake the Ned up.  
"Mr. Stark gets back tomorrow." Peter said.  
"I know. We talked today." I replied.  
"He talks to you a lot."  
"He's my guardian. Why, are you... Jealous?" I asked, prodding him with my elbow.  
"Maybe a little. I don't know. He just... He doesn't talk to me nearly as much as he does to you." He admitted.   
"Peter, he adopted me. Not to mention, I'm a lot funnier than you. It's only natural that he should like me more."  
He smirked. "Sure."  
"I'm just joking."

"Have you started training yet?" He whispered.  
"No, I was waiting until Mr. Stark got back."  
"Do you think you'll get a suit?"  
"Maybe. I don't know. I don't know if he's gonna let me on the field for a while."  
"He let me on the field pretty quickly."  
"You were already helping people when he found you. Not to mention the whole Germany thing."  
"You know about Germany?"  
"I'm not the only one."  
"Hm."  
"To be honest... I don't know how I would've turned out if I hadn't met Mr. Stark. I could've been a villain or something." I confessed.  
"No, no. You couldn't be. You're not like that."  
I smiled at his confidence in what he said. I decided, then and there, that I was going to do everything I could to leave my street life behind and be better.

"What are you two whispering about?" Michelle asked over Aunt May's light snoring.   
"Nothing." I replied.  
She raised her eyebrows. "Mmm hmm."   
"No, we're not, we don't-" Peter stuttered.  
"We're just friends." I said, helping him out.  
"Mmm hmm." She repeated, looking back at her phone.

Peter and I glanced at each other. Having only known him a week, I hadn't thought of him like that. I hadn't thought of anyone like that. I mean, I had the occasional crush on the guy or girl in my class when I was younger, but I had been so focused on fighting recently that I hadn't had an interest in a while. 

I pushed those intrusive thoughts aside and focused on the movie. Not today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe see what i did there
> 
> ...


	5. New Threads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POSTING EARLY AGAIN IM SORRY I CANT HELP IT
> 
> thanks for 500 hits my loves :)
> 
> I appreciate all your comments so much, you motivate me to keep going!! ヽ(*ﾟｰﾟ*)ﾉ

I awoke the next morning to the buzzing of my phone in my pocket. I quickly realized I had fallen asleep on the couch with my head on Peter's shoulder. Gingerly, I lifted it off, checking to make sure no one else was awake. Ned and Michelle were still passed out, but Aunt May wasn't there. I guessed she had gone to sleep in her bed.

Thankfully, Peter didn't wake up at my shifting. Staring at the drool slowly dripping out of his mouth, all small, stupid feelings of attraction had vanished.

I pulled my still-buzzing phone out of my pocket, accepting the call.  
"Hey kid."  
I yanked the phone away from my ear at the loud sound of Tony's voice. Warily, I pulled it back again, keeping a good distance.  
"Hey." I replied, my voice broken and sleepy.  
"Did I wake you up?" Tony asked quickly.  
I yawned. "Maybe."  
"Sorry. Wait, it's ten o'clock. Do you regularly sleep in till ten on the weekend?"  
"Heh, that rhymed. I was up really late last night." I mumbled, shuffling over to the kitchen.  
"Oh. Well, I'm sending Happy to come pick you and Parker up. He'll be there in about an hour."  
"Great."  
"Alright, bye." He said, quickly ending the phone call.

I ran my hand back through my tangled hair, my brain still fuzzy. I set on a pot of coffee.  
Peter walked slowly into the kitchen, his shirt askew as he wiped his eyes with his hands.  
"Hey." He mumbled, opening the fridge.  
"Hey." I replied.  
"How long have you been up?" He asked, pulling out the jug of milk.  
"Not long. Mr. Stark called." I replied.  
"Was it something important?"  
"Happy's coming to pick us up in an hour."  
"What are we supposed to tell Ned and Michelle?"  
"Don't both of them already know you're Spiderman?" I asked quietly, just in case.  
"Yeah, but they don't know about you."  
Oh, right.  
"Well, I guess you could tell them we went shopping."  
"I don't go shopping." He replied, raising an eyebrow.  
"For me, dorkus. I do need some more clothes anyway."

-

Happy's eyes were still puffy from sleep as we got in the car. I guess he slept in too.  
He spoke not one word to us the entire car ride.  
Peter and I sat in the back, chatting quietly as to not agitate Happy. 

We were scrolling through his old Instagram pictures as he explained the setting and stories behind them. We came across one of him and a group, most of whom I didn't recognize, in front of the Lincoln Memorial.  
"What's this?" I asked.  
"Oh, that was when we had the Decathlon in DC." he replied simply.  
"And you... With the Washington Memorial..."  
I hadn't put the pieces together before.  
"Heh. Yeah. I nearly got kicked off the team for that. Oh, speaking of, I think we could use you."  
I glanced up at him, my eyes widening in surprise. "You want me on your Decathlon Team?"  
"Yeah. I think you'd be really good. I saw you ace that Geometry test Wednesday. You're really smart."  
"Smort." I said underneath my breath.  
"What?"  
"Nothing. Um, I don't know... I'd have to talk to Mr. Stark about it. And Mr. Harrington." I said.  
"I've already talked to Mr. Harrington about it. He thinks it would be a good idea, too, since Amber quit." He answered.

We pulled up at the facility before I could say anything else.  
"Let's go." Happy said gruffly.  
"Are you okay, Happy?" I asked, getting out of the car.  
"I'm fine." He huffed.  
"Really? Cause you seem grumpier than usual." I teased.  
He shot me a look. I knew the limits I could push him to, though  
"I was up all night helping Tony with something." He mumbled, locking the car.  
"What was it?" Peter asked.  
Happy didn't reply.

-

Mr. Stark looked a little worn out, but happy to see us.

"Hey kid." He said, ruffling my hair. Which made me a little mad because I had just straightened it that morning.  
"How was your trip?" I asked him, picking up a knicknack off of one of the shelves in his office.  
"Fine. Boring. How's school?" He returned.  
"Fine. Boring."  
"Parker do anything stupid?"  
Peter's cheeks went red. "Nothing too stupid, sir." I replied.

"So i started a design for a suit for you." Mr. Stark said.  
My heart leaped in my chest.  
"Don't get too excited, it's just a prototype. Here, let me show you." He tapped on the tablet he was holding, bringing up a holographic picture of a white and turquoise armorous suit. It kind of looked like Peter's, except a lot less tight and a bit more protective.  
My eyes widened as I examined the picture. "This looks amazing, Mr. Stark." I said, my eyes not leaving the tablet.  
"Well, maybe you might want to try it on." He replied, smirking. 

The wall behind him slid back to reveal the suit, even more gorgeous in real life.  
A dramatic gasp escaped my lips. "No... No way. It's real!" I exclaimed, running up to touch it.  
"It's got special technology that morphs with you as you teleport while still protecting you. Go try it on." Mr. Stark said, grabbing the suit and handing it to me.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that difficult to get on. It was form-fitting but modest, which i greatly appreciated.  
The helmet was my favorite part though. It clicked right on to the rest of it and allowed room for my hair. The eyes were turquoise, and as soon as i clicked it on, I heard a voice.  
"Hello, Y/N. I see you've tried on your suit."  
"Aah! What was that?" I yelled, looking around. But there was no one there.  
"I'm your suit's computer." He replied. I quickly took a liking to the Australian accent he had been given.  
"S-suit's... Awesome." I stuttered.  
"Should I give you some time to adjust to the suit?" He asked.  
"Oh, uh, yes, please." I replied nicely.  
The voice stopped and I took another quick look at myself in the mirror.  
"I look badass."

I stepped back out into the office.  
"It's awesome, Mr. Stark." I said, wiggling my fingers.  
"Looks good." He replied. "Did you meet the computer?"  
"I did. Kind of freaked me out though. Why does he have an Australian accent?" I asked.  
"I just had to choose one. Seemed like something you'd like." He answered, sitting down at his desk.  
"I do. Really. Do I get to keep it, or...?" My sentence trailed off.  
"Oh, no, the suit's staying here. But you'll be able to come and train in it."  
I was a little disappointed, but I can't say I blame him. I haven"t had the best track record with breaking technology. Especially cracking my phone screen way too many times.  
"It looks great, Y/N." Peter said, leaning against the wall.  
"Thanks."

"Hey, didn't you say you needed clothes?" Mr. Stark asked.  
"Uh, not to you, but yes, I do." I answered, still getting used to the feeling of the suit.  
"Okay. I'm gonna give you some money and you go shopping. Nothing inappropriate, or too expensive, or stupid, just regular clothes." He said, pulling a wad of cash out of his wallet.  
"Oh, no, Mr. Stark, I can't let you do that. No." I stuttered, waving him away.  
"Y/N, I'm your guardian. I have to. Well, I want to, but i also have to." He shoved the cash into my hands. "You need clothes, I'm getting you clothes."  
Peter's eyes widened but he didn't say anything.  
"Uh, oh, okay. I guess."  
"Go take the suit off and then you and Parker go shopping."  
"Uh, you want me to...to go with her?" Peter asked confusedly.  
"Yeah." Mr. Stark said simply.  
Even though he "doesn't go shopping", he wasn't going to tell Mr. Stark no.  
Which I thought was hilarious.

I quickly changed out of my suit, saying goodbye to the computer, and gave it to Mr. Stark.

Happy silently drove us to the mall and dropped us off.

The look on Peter's face once we arrived was enough to make me want to pee my pants from laughing.  
"Look, I can go by myself, why don't you just go sit in the food court and hang out until I'm done?" I said, still giggling.  
"No, no, Mr. Stark said to go with you, so I'm going to." He answered, his face determined.  
"Your loyalty is adorable." I joked, booping his nose.  
He frowned, slapping my hand away. "Let's just get this over with."

"What store are we going to first?" He asked as he looked with disdain on the people bustling around us.  
"Uh, this one looks fine." I said, pointing the nearest store.  
He rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's go."  
I chuckled again, wondering why he hated shopping so much. 

I skimmed the store, picking out whatever I thought was cute and would fit, and hung it on my arm to try on.  
Peter pulled out a sweater from the rack that read "tacocat spelled backwards is tacocat"  
"What the hell? What does this even mean? And why would you put it on a sweater?" He asked, hanging it back up.  
"Dude, I'm like, ninety-five percent sure Ned has a shirt exactly like that." I replied, laughing.  
He frowned again.

"I'm gonna go try this stuff on." I said, holding out an arm full of coat hangers. "You coming?"  
"You want me to come?" He asked. His face easily read "this can get worse?"  
"Well, I need an outside opinion."  
"God." He muttered.

He slumped into the bench opposite my dressing room.  
"Stop being so grumpy. It'll be fun." I assured him.  
He looked convinced otherwise.  
I changed into the first outfit, which was a pair of high-waisted black ripped jeans with a gray Harley-Davidson t-shirt. Simple enough.  
I stepped out of the dressing room and Peter looked up from his phone.  
"Yes or no?"  
"Yeah." He said simply. 

My next outfit was a striped longsleeve with denim overall shorts.  
"Yes or no?"  
"Yes."

I came out next in a bright yellow sweater and light jeans.  
"You like bright yellow?" He asked.  
"I'm branching out."  
"It doesn't fit you well."  
I glanced in the mirror. He was right. Hmm.

The next couple outfits were approved, considering I preferred a more simple style that consisted of different colored sweaters and longsleeves with high-waisted jeans.

I slid into a soft pink sundress. I normally hated dresses, but this one fit so well I was willing to try it.

I slipped out of the dressing room and did a little twirl, my hair spinning with me.  
"Yes or no?" I asked.  
His eyes widened as he looked up from his phone.  
"Uh, that's a, that's a dress." He stuttered.  
"Yes, it is. Gold star for you." I replied, smiling sweetly despite my sarcasm.  
"No, I mean, you don't normally wear dresses."  
"Like I said, I'm branching out. Yes or no?" I did another twirl.  
"Oh, uh, yes. Yeah." he said, nodding.  
I ignored the slight pink hue on his cheeks and went back into the dressing room. That goes into the no pile.

Way too clichè. The girl who normally wears dark colors and jeans comes out in a dress and guys start drooling. No way.  
If there was any chance to prevent those feelings from resurfacing, on my side of his, I was going to take it. 

I changed into my regular clothes, grabbed what I was buying, and left the dressing room. Peter stood up and followed me.

I bought the clothes, then we headed to couple of other stores.  
I ended buying a couple more casual t-shirts, another pair of jeans, and some bright red converse. 

"Hey Peter." I said as we walked towards the food court.  
"Yeah?"  
"Why do you hate shopping so much?"  
"Hm. I don't know. I just... I guess it's cause growing up with Aunt May, uh, we never really had a lot of money." He replied as we sat down at a table. "Which is fine, you know, she was doing her best to support both of us, but, I kind of got used to not having a lot. Whenever i was younger, Aunt May always had to tell me no when I asked for something. And I guess I don't like it because I was always looking at stuff I couldn't have. Then Mr. Stark came along, and really helped us out. But I still feel bad when I go shopping, because I know Aunt May doesn't have a whole lot and I feel selfish."

That was not the answer I expected.  
A wave of guilt hit me.  
"God, Peter, if i had known that, I wouldn't have made you come. I'm sorry." I said, trying my best to console him.  
"It's okay. You didn't know. And I actually kind of had fun." He admitted, his brown eyes boring into mine.  
"You did?"  
"Yeah. You're a fun person."  
Alarms went off in my head. Nope. Shutting this down.  
"Oh, uh, thanks. Well, i guess we should get going." I said hurriedly, standing up.  
"Yeah, okay." He replied, standing too.

I didn't mean to be rude. But i wasn't going to let myself fall for a boy i had known for a week.  
No way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> B99 reference in there if you caught it... (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Just want to let yall know, Peter's whole thing about shopping is purely from my imagination, none of it is canon. I just thought it would be a good lil tidbit to add some character depth and his expression of that would show trust and kind of bond them a bit :)


	6. High School Drama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey loves :)
> 
> So about my Loki/Reader work...
> 
> I orphaned it.
> 
> I was gonna delete it. Orphaning it was a worse idea because now I have to see it live on without me.
> 
> I decided to let it go because 1. The original work itself was dumb and was going to take an assload of editing to make it less stupid 2. It was drawing my time and attention away from this work 3. It was doing terrible anyway
> 
> So apologies to the lovely people reading it. I hate to do that. But if you're looking for a really good, novel-sized Loki/Reader fix check out The Verdant Prince by Geeks4Squeaks, it's already finished and one of my personal favorites!
> 
> :)

"Dude, what even is that?" I asked, pointing to whatever was on the screen of Ned's phone.  
"It's a half-cow, half-sheep." He informed me. The video continued to play as the confused animal limped and stumbled around. Ned laughed again as it tripped and fell over.  
"Ned, that's not funny, it's sad. Now, put your phone up, the bus'll be here soon."  
He looked disappointed as I grabbed what I needed from my locker and closed it. 

Peter walked up to us.  
"Hey Y/N, have you thought any more about the AD team?" He asked, shifting his books in his arm.  
"Oh, uh, not really..." I replied, my sentence trailing off as my attention was caught by nothing in the background.  
"You're joining the team?" Ned asked excitedly.  
"I-I don't-"  
"You totally should." Ned interrupted. "You're, like, really smart."  
"I don't know." I mumbled, tucking my hair behind my ears with my eyes on the ground.  
"Well, have you talked to Mr. Stark about it?" He asked.  
"N-no. No, I haven't."  
Peter seemed to catch onto my vibe. "Call him." He challenged, crossing his arms against his chest.  
"Right now?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.  
"Right now."  
Ned stood silently, gaping at the back-and-forth.  
I pulled my phone out from my pocket. "But he could be in an important meeting or something-"  
"Just call him."  
His tone was gentle, but demanding. I had to now. What was there to be afraid of, really?  
Quite a bit, actually.

I put the phone to my ear, the trilling noise of the call grating on the anxious feeling rising in my chest.  
"Hello?"  
Why'd he have to answer so quickly?  
Damn it.  
"Oh, uh, hey Mr. Stark."  
"Hey kid. Is something up?"  
"No, no, I just wanted to ask you a question. You're not doing anything important right now, are you?"  
"Nope. Shoot."  
Damn it!  
"Uh... I was just wondering if it's cool if I join the Academic Decathlon team." I blurted. Peter's eyebrows dipped in confusion.  
He chuckled awkwardly. "Yes, that's fine. Y/N, you don't have to ask me."  
"Well, I just thought, as my guardian, I should, you know, have your permission." Well, that didn't sound stupid.  
"I... I appreciate that. Yes, you have my permission."  
"Okay, thanks, bye." I said, quickly ending the call.

Ned had already gotten on his bus while I was on the phone.  
Peter walked up to me, a confused grin on his face.  
"What is your deal? Why are you being so weird about this?" He asked.  
I tucked my phone back into my pocket.  
"I just... I don't know." I dismissed as the bus pulled up.  
"No, you do know. What's wrong?" He pried.  
We stepped onto the bus, finding out regular seat. "I..." My mind reeled as I desperately tried to find something to say.  
"Y/N."  
My eyes met his chocolate brown ones. "You can tell me." He assured.  
"I don't think i can do it." I admitted. Pressure lifted off of my chest as his kind eyes softened.  
"What do you mean?" He asked quietly.  
"I just... I don't think I'm nearly as smart as you or the others, and I think if I try, I'll just end up looking stupid. Not to mention I don't deserve it. I don't deserve to be on the team, or have such good friends like you, or to have a family-"  
"Hey."  
His quiet interruption cut me off completely. i swallowed the lump in my throat, meeting his eyes again.  
"You are smart. A hell of a lot smarter than you think. And I can one hundred percent guarantee you're smarter than Flash." I eyed him warily. "Okay, maybe that didn't help. But you are. And what do you mean you don't deserve it? Y/N, you are the kindest, funniest, most understanding person I have ever met. To be honest, you're the greatest friend I've ever had. You deserve the world, and so much more, and I'm going to do my absolute best to make you see that."

Warmth flooded my chest - a feeling I wasn't familiar with.  
"Peter, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." I said quietly, smiling.  
"You deserve it." He insisted.  
Without thinking, I laid my head against his shoulder and leaned into his side. Ignoring the butterflies in my chest, I rode the rest of the way home with my best friend.

...

"So you'll do it?" He asked, pulling out some leftover Italian food.  
"Do what?" I replied absently as I set my stuff down and flopped on the couch.  
"Join the team?"  
He looked expectantly at me.  
"Yeah, I'll do it."  
His face broke out into an excited grin.  
"Good. Good. It'll be good to have you. You know, the competition is in LA this year." He gushed, putting his food in the microwave.  
"All the way in LA?"  
"Yeah! Isn't it exciting? Maybe we'll get to meet some celebrities."  
"Like Dylan O'Brien." I said, grinning at the thought.  
"Who's that?" He asked, frowning.  
"You don't...? Nevermind."  
He plopped down next to me on the couch.  
"No, but really, who is it?"  
"Just this cute actor. No big deal. Look, I'll show you."  
His face scrunched up as I showed him a picture.  
"He's... Not even that good looking." He mumbled, picking at his ravioli.  
"Why do you care?" I teased, prodding him with my elbow.  
"I don't." He muttered as my phone vibrated.

It was a text from Ned.  
"wut was that by the bus today??" it read.  
"what was what?" I texted back.  
In a matter of seconds, he replied.  
"the whole thing with the AD team... u were being weird"  
"I was just nervous about joining"  
"betty was on the bus, she saw ur whole emotional speech"  
Before I could reply, he sent me a picture of my head on Peter's shoulder from behind our seat. Snitch.  
I could tell where he was going with this.  
"Peter's my best friend, nothing more"  
"1. fyi he's my best friend 2. u totally dig himmm"  
"no i do not"  
"Ned"  
"Ned i don't!"  
No response. Just a winky emoji.  
I growled in frustration.

"What's wrong? Is Ned spaming you with Spongebob gifs again?" He asked as a TV show played in the background.  
"No. No. I, uh, just lost in online Scrabble."  
"You play online Scrabble?" He asked in disbelief.  
"Yes..." It was true, I really did. And I was good at it. I pulled up the app, showing him.  
"Huh. Me too. I bet I could beat you." He challenged.  
"There is no way in hell, Parker."

We played for the next four hours.  
I beat him. 

...

"Hey Y/N!" A voice called through the crowded hallway. It grated on my nerves before I even realized who it was.  
Flash.  
He pushed his way through a group of kids to my locker where I was standing.  
"What?" I sighed.  
"You make it sound like you don't like talking to me."  
"Past experiences haven't exactly been in your favor."  
He ignored my comment and showed my his phone screen. "I saw you were getting cozy with Penis Parker on the bus yesterday, huh?" He prodded.  
I snatched his phone from his hands. "Where did you get this?" I growled.  
He snatched it back. "I have my sources. So, you two are dating now, or...?"  
"We're just friends." That was about the thirtieth time I'd had to repeat that just in the past day.  
"You know, I could treat you a whole lot better than he could." He commented.  
I slammed my locker shut. "I'm charmed. We're not dating, we don't like each other, and there is absolutely no way in hell that I would ever, ever date you."  
He held his hand to his heart in mock hurt. "I'm devastated."  
"Leave me alone, dickhead." I hissed, pushing my way towards the cafeteria.

...

I found the rest of my group sitting at our usual table and slammed my tray down.  
"I don't know how you live with him!" I exclaimed.  
"Who?" Peter asked.  
"Flash. God, he is such an asshole! I bet you his name's not really Flash. It's probably something stupid like Leslie, or-or Phil."  
"It's Eugene." Michelle added.  
"Even better. I just hate him so much!" I seethed. I clenched and unclenched my hands in anger.  
"What did he do?" Ned asked.  
I quickly pulled up the picture of me and Peter on the bus and showed him.  
"Where did he get this picture, Ned?" I questioned, my anger receding to a quiet calm.  
"What...I-I didn't send it to him!" He defended.  
"Then who did?"  
"I already told you, Betty took the picture. She might have sent it to some other kids, too." He replied. His eyes shone with what looked like fear, which told me I needed to tone it down.  
"Oh. Okay. I'm... I'm sorry." I said softly.  
"It's okay. I didn't mean to make you mad."  
"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at that bitch-ass, Eugene."  
We all snickered at the sound of his real name. I was definitely doing to use that against him.

"So you two aren't...?' Michelle asked, her sentence trailing off.  
"We're just friends." Peter and I said at the same time.

Good thing he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you thought in the comments below!! Thank you ;)


	7. Stupid Dumb Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi my friends
> 
> I promise, promise that next chapter I will be getting into her suit, training, and her relationship with Tony but for now just bear with me!!
> 
> -IMPORTANT-  
> this weekend I am going to Chicago and will not have time therefore i will NOT be posting next week. I promise as soon as I get back I will return to my regular schedule. Hang in there babies!!

In just a few weeks, I had gone from the awkward, anxious, lonely girl I was to the happy, confident one I was now. 

Peter had become my best friend. We hung out together all the time - he was such a fun person to be around.  
He's really cute, too.  
No.  
Stop that.

Michelle and Ned still came over all the time. They were hilarious and so much fun to hang out with.  
Ned wouldn't stop teasing me about Peter. Thank god he was oblivious to it.  
I had developed an odd attachment to Michelle. For some reason, I trusted her, and for some weirder reason, she trusted me.

 

"So what's going on with you and Peter?" She asked absentmindedly at lunch one day.  
I sighed. "We're just friends." It felt like the thousandth time I had said it already. She closed her book. "Yes, I know. You've both said that more times than I can count. But what's really going on?"  
I hated talking about it, but she was really the only person I could talk about it with.  
"I... I don't know. He's my best friend. But recently, I've been feeling all these... Feelings." I said, making a disgusted face.  
She folded her hands and suddenly I felt like I was at a therapy session.  
"What kind of feelings?"  
"Like... Romantic feelings." Extra disgusted stress on the word "romantic".  
"So you like him?" She asked frankly.  
"I... No. Yes? Maybe? I don't know." I didn't want to address it. At least out loud.  
"Hmm. And he likes you?" She questioned.  
"I don't think so." I replied somberly. I shouldn't care if he did, anyway.  
"Hmm."  
I didn't want to talk about it anymore.

I got up to refill my drink.  
Big mistake.  
"Y/N." A singsong voice said behind me.  
I whipped around so fast I nearly spilled my drink.  
"What, Eugene?"  
I could see his eyes widen, but other than that, he seemed unfazed.  
"I wanted to talk to you about something."  
I groaned internally. "Go on, then. Talk." I said, waving my hand.  
"This Friday's Halloween, and I'm having a party at my house," He said. "And I wanted to invite you."  
"What?"  
I didn't mean for it to come out that rude. For it to come out at all, actually.  
"Yeah. I mean, unless you have other plans." He said, shuffling his feet. He almost seemed nervous. It was disturbing.  
I didn't know what to say.  
"Uh... I don't know, Flash. I'm pretty sure we were enemies, like, yesterday." I replied, sipping my drink.  
"I don't... Ugh. Okay, your other friends can come too." he said, waving towards my table. "But don't expect me not to make fun of Penis Parker."  
As much as I hated when he called Peter that, I considered it. On one hand, I'd have to hang out with Flash. At his house. On the other hand, I would be able to publicly roast him. And I might just actually have fun.  
"Yeah, okay."  
"Really?"  
"You asked me. Why are surprised that I said yes?"  
"I just..." He seemed to have remembered that he was supposed to be cocky and annoying. "Yeah, alright. Then I'll see you losers then."  
I rolled my eyes as I walked back to my table.  
Crap.  
What had I just done?

The group stared at me as I sat back down.  
"What were you talking to Flash about?" Peter asked, picking at his mashed potatoes absently.  
"He, um, invited me to a Halloween party this Friday. Well, invited us."  
Peter glanced at me in disbelief.  
"And what did you tell him?" Michelle questioned.  
Uh oh. Here it comes. "I, uh, may have said yes." I mumbled.  
A myriad of reactions sent a wave of guilt over me. Michelle groaned and Peter groaned louder, while Ned yelled "why" incessantly.  
"Look, I'm sorry, but it could actually be fun." I insisted. "What were we planning on doing? Going trick-or-treating?"  
"Yes!" Peter answered.  
"Okay, guys, as much as Flash sucks ass, you should listen to Y/N. It could actually be fun and is a lot better than staying at home and watching all of the Scream movies in a row." She eyed Ned, who's idea it was. "Plus, free food."  
I didn't say anything as to not worsen my case.  
Peter sighed. "Fine."  
"I'm only going because the rest of you are going." Ned informed us.  
I smiled. "Great. I promise it'll be fun."  
Michelle eyed me. "Don't make promises you can't keep."  
"Okay, I hope it'll be fun."

...

Peter still seemed kind of pissed on the bus ride home.  
"Are you still mad about the party?" I asked him quietly.  
"No. I just don't want to have to deal with Flash." He answered, fidgeting with the rubix cube he kept in his backpack.  
"You won't have to. I'll spike the punch and we can get blackout drunk. It'd be a lot more fun." I said, elbowing him.  
He laughed. "No, I don't think we can do that. Good idea, though."

Our bus stopped with a lurch a couple blocks away from our apartment and we got out.  
"Hey, what are you gonna be for Halloween?" He asked.  
"I was thinking of just wearing my suit."  
His eyes widened. "No, no, no, you can't do that."  
"I'm just joking, Webhead. I'll do nothing of the sort. Mr. Stark would never let me anyway."  
He seemed to learn to breathe again.  
"I... I was actually thinking of wearing your suit."  
The look in his eyes was even crazier as we turned the corner.  
"No. Absolutely not."  
I gave him my best puppy-dog eyes.  
"Y/N, no! No." he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Do you know how many things could go wrong? You could make people think you're Spiderman, or you could set off the webs, or Karen, or instant kill mode-"  
"Karen?"  
"The computer for my suit."  
"You named her Karen?"  
"Well... Yeah."  
"Whatever. Peter, please! It'd be so cool. The computer or webs wouldn't even have to be on. I'd just be wearing the suit." I begged as we approached our building.  
"Y/N, it's dangerous. And stupid."  
"Like that's ever stopped you before."  
He stopped and stared at me. "You are so stubborn."  
"No, I'm not." I replied, joking.  
He rolled his eyes and began to trot up the stairs.  
"Okay, how about this. I don't wear it to the party, but you let me try it on and I make you grilled cheeses every for the rest of the week."  
He sighed. "Fine. You know I love a good grilled cheese." He replied.  
"Yes!" I said under my breath.

I raced Peter back to the apartment, only to meet Aunt May on her way out.  
"You going out, Aunt May?" I asked, skidding to a halt. Peter huffed behind me as he made it up the last couple of stairs.  
"I got the night shift." She replied, showing off her scrubs.  
"Oh. Okay. Well, have fun."  
She kissed the top of my head. "You two don't get into any trouble."  
"Can't guarantee anything." I replied, nodding to Peter as I went inside the apartment.  
He followed me in and shut the door.  
"Are Ned and Michelle coming over?" I asked, dropping my backpack on the floor.  
"It's Tuesday."  
"They sleep over every other night of the week."  
"True. Nah, I think they have plans." He replied.  
I looked at him expectantly.  
"Oh, right, the suit. You-you wanna do that now?"  
"Yes, please."  
He sighed. "Come on."  
I followed him to his room, where he grabbed the suit.  
"Do not shoot any webs, and do not talk to Karen." He said, handing it to me.  
"Why not?"  
"Because."  
"Um, do I have to... Take-"  
"Yes, you have to take off your clothes. Go get changed." He said, waving me out the door.  
I almost skipped to my room out of excitement. 

Getting it on wasn't the hard part. It was getting it to fit.  
I mean, it was basically a morph suit on Peter, but I couldn't get it to do that on me. I was practically swimming in it.  
I tried feeling for any button, tried to ask the computer, but nothing worked.  
Then I pressed the little spider on the front. The suit suctioned to me and the eyes lit up.  
"Hello." A voice said. I knew better than to get scared this time.  
"Oh, uh, hello. Karen, right?"  
"Yes, that's right. You're not Peter." She observed.  
I watched myself walk in front of the mirror. I looked good in that suit.  
"No, he's, uh, he's letting me try it on."  
"What's your name?" She asked kindly.  
"Y/N." I replied, twiddling my fingers.  
"Hello, Y/N."  
"Hello. I don't think I'm supposed to be talking to you." I said, remembering what Peter had explicitly stated.  
"I don't think he'll mind." She replied. She sounded so nice, I wasn't going to contradict her.  
"You know, Peter talks about you quite a bit."  
An awkward giggle bubbled its way up my throat. "Really? What does he say?"  
"He tells me -"  
She was cut off my Peter knocking anxiously on the door. "Y/N? Everything okay? You're not talking to Karen, are you?"  
"No, I'm not." I yelled, hitting the spider in panic.  
"I'm coming in."  
"No, no, Peter, no-!"  
I grabbed the suit off the floor in an attempt to cover myself, but pulled it out from underneath my foot and tripped. Peter covered his eyes with his hand and tried to run out the door, but tripped over me, yelling the whole time.  
His legs were on top of my half-covered abdomen now. We tried to scramble away from each other, resulting in a more tangled and awkward mess. Finally, I had managed to slide the suit back on, hitting the spider again so I was somewhat covered.  
Peter crawled away from me, sliding his back up against the wall and breathing heavily. I sat opposite him, my face still flushed.  
We stared at each other awkwardly.  
There seemed to be only one solution.  
I burst out in laughter. Like, ab-cramping, tear-inducing laughter.  
Thankfully, Peter did too.  
We laughed for a solid two minutes.

"Well, that was awkward." He said once we had settled down.  
"Extremely." I replied, trying to smooth out my tangled nest of hair.  
"You okay?"  
"A little bruised probably, but other than that, I'm good. You?"  
"Same."  
We looked at each other again.  
Before I knew what was happening, he reached over, tipping my chin, and kissed me.  
Peter Parker was kissing me.  
I didn't know what to do. I couldn't move. My heart jumped and released a thousand butterflies into my stomach.  
Time slowed and all I could focus on was his lips on mine. 

It only lasted for about four seconds until I realized what was happening.  
I pushed away from him and stood up quickly.  
"I, uh, you-you need your suit back." I stuttered.  
He stared at me from the floor, his look half confusion and half mortification.  
I ran to the bathroom.  
Crap.  
I forgot my clothes.  
I ran back to my room and into Peter. I mumbled an incoherent apology, grabbed my clothes off the floor, and ran back to the bathroom.  
What just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOURE WELCOME AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHH
> 
> so about May's job...
> 
> See, her job, or having a job in general, isn't mentioned in any of the movies, except for The Amazing Spiderman (1&2) where she works as a nurse. So I decided, since I really had no other option other than to come up with something myself, to include that here. It is NOT canon in the MCU, as far as I know. Just in case there was any confusion. 
> 
> let me know what you think of the chapter thank you my lovely chirren


	8. Distractions and Badassery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting early cause I missed a week :)
> 
> Thank y'all for all the love and support y'all give me!! You inspire me to keep writing! ～(^з^)-♡

What. The. Literal. Hell.

It's not that I didn't enjoy it. Because I really, really did. That was the problem.

I stared at my flushed face in the mirror, my hair a frizzy message surrounding my face. I hit the spider in the middle of my chest, the baggy suit falling the floor. Gingerly, I stepped out of it and changed into my clothes.  
How would I go back out there?  
I had to talk to somebody. Anybody.  
Peeking my head out of the bathroom door, I checked to see if Peter was still out there. His door was closed and there was no sign of him.  
My heart still racing, I quietly made my way to my room and called MJ.

"Michelle?" I asked, my voice cracking as she picked up the phone.  
"Huh?"  
"Oh, were you busy?"  
"No, no. Just making some toast. Is something wrong?"  
"Very."  
I explained to her everything that had happened, including every little detail I could remember. My heart began to slow down as I told the story, but my mind continued to race.

"That's... Interesting." She replied once I was done.  
I huffed. "A little more than interesting, I'd say."  
"So he definitely likes you."  
"I'd assume so."  
"Okay. And you're not sure if you like him?"  
"Yes. I just wanted to be friends, despite those romantic feelings, but now things are gonna be super awkward. I know it." I told her.  
"Hm." Was all she said in reply.  
"No advice or anything?"  
"Shh. I'm thinking."

After a couple of seconds of silence, she finally spoke up.  
"I would suggest that you talk to him about it, but knowing Peter, it'll only make things worse. So maybe just act like it didn't happen?" She suggested.  
I didn't want to, but it seemed to be the only viable option. "Yeah, okay. We're the only ones in the apartment right now."  
"So just stay in your room, do your homework, go to bed, and when you wake up tomorrow, say that you hit your head when you fell and you don't remember anything."  
"Yeah, yeah. Smart. Thanks, Michelle."  
"Sure."

As soon as I ended the call, my phone buzzed with a text from Chris.  
"The usual place. $900 just on your first."  
I groaned. Now was really not a good time.  
"Chris, I can't keep doing these." I replied.  
"We have a deal. You've still got two years."  
Fighting would be a good way to get this whole thing off my mind. Keep me distracted.  
Fine. Be there in 10 mins."

I locked my door, snuck out of the window, and headed to the warehouse.

...

I contemplated my deal with Chris on the quiet subway.  
Two years ago, he found me in an alleyway, kicking the crap out of some scrawny guy who tried to mug me. He suggested a deal. I come and fight for him until I was eighteen, and he gets 30% of the money I make. Being the stupid, broke fourteen-year-old I was, I agreed, not giving a single thought to what would happen if he found out what I could really do.  
There were really no loopholes. Maybe I could do a couple more fights and let him have all the money, and that would equal what I would give him over the next two years.

As I was walking up to the warehouse, something red caught my eye. I looked up on top of a building a block or two away, and immediately figured out who it was. Spiderman. Peter.  
The feeling of his lips on mine suddenly rushed back to me.  
I shook myself back to my senses and stared at him crouching on the edge of the building.  
He was either blowing off some steam or fighting crime. Either way, I didn't want him to see me.  
I hurried up to the warehouse, said the password, and entered.

"Ah! Y/N! Right on time. We've got some good ones today." Chris said, walking beside me.  
"Awesome. Let's do it." I replied, my eyes on the ring and the huge, roaring crowd of people surrounding it.  
"Glad to see you have a more enthusiastic attitude this time." He quipped as a last punch sent the other person in the ring to the floor.

My first fight was rough. I couldn't focus - all I could think about was Peter.  
A right hook from my opponent sent me flying to the floor, my head smacking the ground. If I kept this up, I really wouldn't remember anything.  
"Y/N! What are you doing?" Chris hissed as I stepped out for some water.  
"I'm trying! I just can't focus." I answered, gulping down the cool liquid.  
"Well, you need to. I'm not- we're not losing." He demanded.  
I stepped back into the ring, clearing my mind. Focus. 

With every punch and kick, I released the emotions I had been bottling up. The fear, the anxiety, the awkwardness. Even though my hands ached with the force of the hits, my soul felt better. 

...

"That's more like it!" Chris yelled as I kicked my opponent in the abdomen, making them double over and fall to the floor.  
I hopped over the ring and grabbed the towel he handed me.  
"How much?" I asked, panting.  
"How much what?"  
"How much have I earned? I've done four fights."  
"Uhh, that's... twenty-three hundred."  
"Keep it all." I said, splashing some water on my face.  
"Huh?" His thin eyebrows creased in confusion.  
"I want out of our deal. I'll do a few more fights, you keep all of it. That should pay off what I would earn for the next two years."  
"Wha- what? No!" He whispered.  
"It'd be the same amount you'd get either way."  
He stopped for a second and considered it. "Ten thousand. You can get out once you get me ten thousand."  
I huffed. "Yeah. Okay."  
He grinned, his face stretching to reveal his crooked and yellow teeth. "Awesome. Thanks, sweetheart." He pecked my cheek and hopped down. 

...

I snuck back into my room and checked around the apartment. Peter seemed to still be out, so I took a long, hot shower, still thinking about the kiss. 

I didn't think he thought of me like that. It didn't really seem like he did - and I wasn't putting off any signals. At least I hope not.  
It'll all blow over in a few days, I told myself. Just do what Michelle told you.

...

My heart thumped when I sat down next to Peter at the table the next morning.  
"Hey." I said, setting down my bowl of cheerios with slightly bruised hands.  
"Hey." He replied, his brows creasing in confusion.  
I stared at him in silence.  
"So, about last night..." He started, his sentence trailing off.  
"I'm just going to be honest with you," I began. "I don't really remember anything after the incident with the suit."  
His eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"  
"Yeah. I mean, I remember trying on the suit, you coming in, and tripping, but I hit my head really hard on the floor. Everything after that is hazy."  
His whole body seemed to relax. "Oh. Well, after that, um... You got changed back into your clothes and went to bed. D-do you have a concussion?"  
"No. I'm okay. Even if I did, I slept it off."  
"I don't think that's how concussions work."  
"Well, what I'm trying to say is that I'm fine now."  
"Okay then."

He seemed to believe me. The plan worked.

...

I was in the middle of English class when I was called to the principal's office.  
Everyone stared at me in confusion, considering I never got called to the office. Ever.  
Quietly, I picked up my stuff and headed up there.  
I smiled at the receptionist as she told me to go in.

Mr. Stark was sitting opposite Principal Morita, chatting casually.  
"Oh, hello, Y/N. Have a seat." Mr. Morita said, waving to the chair next to Mr. Stark.  
Crap. I searched my mind for anything I could have done that would get me in trouble.  
"I was just telling Mr. Stark about how well you're doing in school." He said.  
I sighed in relief. "We both agreed that you should go with the AD team to Los Angeles this year."  
"Oh. Really?" I asked in disbelief.  
"Yes. You're already doing so well on the team, and your grades are some of the highest in the school. Not everyone on the team gets to go, but we think that you'd be a very valuable member this year." Mr. Morita said, smiling.  
I glanced over to Mr. Stark. "And you're okay with me going?"  
"Yes, of course." He replied.  
"Then I'd be happy to go." I decided.  
"Oh, Mr. Stark is also here to pull you out early."  
"Awesome!" I whispered.

I had already grabbed my backpack, thinking that if I did anything to get myself in trouble it would probably be suspension-worthy. So seeing that I already had it, I followed Mr. Stark out of the school and into his helicopter.

"You came in a helicopter?" I yelled over the roaring of the blades.  
"Why not?" he yelled in reply.  
Not that I minded leaving school in a helicopter. It was pretty badass.  
I shot Peter a text.  
"Leaving with Mr. Stark. See you after school." It read. I was worried that it might make him jealous, but I didn't want to leave without letting him know where I was going.  
"k." He replied. Oh well.

We flew to the facility and Happy escorted us inside.  
"So Y/N, today I wanted to do a bit of training with you in the suit."  
A gasp escaped my mouth before I could stop it. "For reals?"  
He looked at me in confusion. "Yes, for reals. Do people really say that nowadays?"  
"No, no. That's just something I say."  
We walked into his office and he handed me the suit.  
"Go put it on and meet me in the training room." He said.  
"I... I'm training with you?" I asked in disbelief.  
He smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Go."

I got the suit on as quickly as humanly possible.  
"Oh, hello, Y/N."  
"Hey, computer." I replied as I walked the hallways to the training room.  
"Would you like to give me a name?" He asked.  
He was going to have a cooler name than Karen, for sure. "Uh, I guess so. I could call you... Axel." That was definitely badass enough.  
"I like that name. Axel it is."

"You talking to the computer?" Mr. Stark asked as I entered the training room.  
"I named him Axel." I replied. "You're not gonna wear your suit?"  
"I am." He clicked his arc reactor. Nothing happened.  
He frowned and tapped on it again. "I'm working on some nanotech, it's not exactly cooperating yet." He mumbled.  
"Whatever." he clicked something on his wrist and in seconds a suit flew in. It popped open and he stepped into it.  
"Now, I want you to go as hard as you possibly can. I'll take it easy on you."  
I scoffed. "How weak do you think I am?"

Without hesitating, I flew forward and punched him in the face. Well, the suit's face. Thankfully, my suit provided some protection for my fists.  
He stepped back, taken by surprise. "Alright, then."  
Mr. Stark obviously underestimated me. I could tell by how easy it was to hit him in the beginning. But as he began to see what I could really do, he took it up a couple notches.

After a good bit of sparring, I took off my helmet to drink some water.  
"Okay. That was good. Now I want you to incorporate your powers." He said as I chugged water out of the bottle.  
I nearly choked. "You - you want me to what?"  
"Use your powers to your advantage. You can teleport, right? Your opponent won't see you coming."  
Smart.  
I chuckled. "Okay, then." Clicking my helmet back on, I teleported behind him and kicked him, sending him to his knees.  
"Good." He groaned. "Keep going."

As soon as he stood up, I teleported to his side and hit his ribs, then in front of him and kicked the same spot.  
Before i could teleport again, he grabbed my foot while it was still in the air and twisted it, leaving me spinning to the ground.  
The window was knocked out of me as I hit the floor with harder impact than I expected.  
"Oof." Was I all managed to say.  
"Come on. Keep going. You have to learn to recover quick."

We sparred for the next hour. I got faster at teleporting to hit him and teleporting away from a hit.  
Thankfully, he never actually used any of the suit's thrusters. I don't think I would have made it out alive if he did.

...

I was walking into a guest bedroom to shower when Axel started talking to me again.  
"That was good. You're a good fighter, Y/N."  
"Oh, not really. Not compared to Mr. Stark. Hey, aren't you supposed to help me with that stuff?"  
"What stuff?"  
"Like, fighting and all that. Tell me what to do."  
"Oh, not yet. You still have to graduate from the Training Wheels protocol. I think Mr. Stark wanted to teach you himself."  
I was both endeared and annoyed.  
"Training Wheels Protocol?"  
"Yes. It's kind of a beginners' program, to help you to learn to use the suit before its full capabilities are revealed."  
"That sounds fancy. Can I turn it off?"  
"No. Only Mr. Stark can do that."  
"Only Mr. Stark can do that." I repeated in a high-pitched, mocking voice.  
"Are you mocking me?" Axel asked, sounding a touch offended.  
"No, Axel, not you. It's just that Mr. Stark keeps underestimating me and what I can do." I answered, staring at myself in the mirror through the turquoise eyes of my mask.  
"I think he just wants to keep you safe, Y/N." He replied.  
I breathed. "Yeah. Okay. I gotta shower."  
I clicked off the mask and set it on the counter, not really wanting to talk about it anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH ALSO THANK YALL SO MUCH FOR 1K I COULDNT HAVE GOTTEN HERE WITHOUT YALL SO BLESS ALL YOU LOVELY CHIRREN


	9. This Is Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IN HONOR OF THE SPOOKIEST DAY OF THE YEAR  
> A HALLOWEEN THEMED CHAPTER
> 
> ALSO THANK YALL SO MUCH FOR 1.3K I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH IT'S SO AMAZING TO HAVE FANS LIKE YOU
> 
> Muah muah

Flash's Halloween party was tomorrow night.

"Okay, does anyone know what they're going as?" Michelle asked, setting up her place on the couch after school.  
"We could go as Ninja Turtles, since there's four of us." Ned suggested.  
"No, I overheard some kids saying they were already gonna do that." She replied.  
"Oh! We could go as the Breakfast Club!" I added.  
"Ooh, okay, okay, I see you. But we need another person."  
"No. Please don't say it." Peter begged, his eyebrows raised at me.  
"I mean... We could get Flash." I offered.  
"I said don't say it! Why did you say it?" He huffed.  
"I don't know, Y/N. He'll probably just make fun of us the whole time." Ned warned.  
"We don't have to do a group costume. We could go as individual characters." Michelle said, sighing.  
"But that's boring." I whined. "I mean, I guess I could figure something out. Maybe I could go as Bob Ross."  
"Ned? What are you going as?" MJ asked.  
"Michaelangelo."  
"The artist?"  
"The Ninja Turtle!" He yelled, almost offended.  
"Peter?" She said, turning to him.  
He was looking at something on his phone absently. "I don't know. I think I have a Han Solo costume in my closet somewhere."  
"Ooh! I could be Chewie! Y/N, you could be Leia, and Michelle, you could be..." Ned said excitedly.  
"Darth Vader." She finished. "Ooh, good idea, Ned. You up for that, Y/N?"  
"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds cool."  
Peter glanced up from his phone. "Hey, I believe you owe me a grilled cheese."  
MJ glanced from Peter to me, raising an eyebrow.  
"I suppose I do." I breathed, standing up.

"What was that about a grilled cheese?" She whisper-yelled, following me into the kitchen.  
"It was part of our deal. He let me try on the suit, I make him a grilled cheese every day."  
"That's... Odd. Anyway, he believed it?"  
"The 'I don't remember' thing?"  
"Yeah."  
"He did." I replied, pulling out the butter and cheese.  
"Crazy. He's been kind of distant though. He wasn't in last period today."  
"Probably just doing Spidey stuff, then."

My phone buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled it out and answered it as I set the sandwich on the pan.  
"Hey kid." Mr. Stark said.  
"Hey. What's up?"  
"Not much. Tinkering with that nanotech I told you about. So, um, Pepper and I wanted to invite you over for dinner."  
I nearly dropped my spatula. "W-what? Me?"  
He laughed lightly. "Yes, you."  
"Just me? With you and who?"  
"My fiancé, Pepper."  
"Oh."  
"Is something wrong, kid?"  
"No, no. I just... This is... Kind of big for me." I eyed Michelle and she left the kitchen.  
"Oh. Good. It's kind of big for us, too. Pepper's amazing, she's gonna love you. Is tomorrow night okay?"  
Tomorrow night. Flash's party.  
"Crap." I muttered.  
"What?"  
"I'm going to a Halloween party that night."  
"Oh, right, tomorrow's Halloween. Then we can reschedule. No problem."  
"No, no, no. Friday night will work. I'll just leave the party early. I didn't really want to go anyway."  
"You sure?"  
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll just teleport over to the... Compound?"  
"Yes. Alright, see you at eight."  
"Okay, love you." 

Quickly realizing what i just said, I ended the call.  
Oh. My. God.  
It was an impulse. A default. A basic human mistake. No big deal, right?  
He was technically my dad. Everyone tells their dad they love him. Usually. Except I had never done that before.  
Oh god. What would he say?

I was taken from my frantic thinking by the smell of a burnt grilled cheese.  
The whole thing was smoking. I hurriedly turned off the fire and flipped the burnt sandwich into the sink.  
One side of it was perfectly grilled, while the other was pitch black.  
"Peter?" I called.  
"Yeah?"  
"Come here, please."  
He trotted into the kitchen, his face scrunching up at the burnt smell.  
"What happened?"  
"Your grilled cheese turned out to be more grilled than cheese." I confessed, grinning sheepishly.  
"Oh. Don't worry about it."  
"You sure? Cause I can make you another-"  
"It's fine. No problem." he assured, grinning.  
My heart flipped in my chest. That stupid grin.

I coughed awkwardly, running my hand back through my hair.  
Big mistake.  
My little jade ring got caught on a curl. I tried to rip it out, wincing in pain.  
Peter looked confused. "W-what happened? Are you tearing your hair out?" He asked, rushing over to see.  
"No, my ring got caught in my hair. Look, just untangle it..." I mumbled, pointing him to the spot where it was stuck.  
Very lightly, he tried to untangle my hair from the gem. "Wow, it's really stuck. Should i just yank it?"  
"Yeah. Just do it. I'm ready."  
"Is it gonna bleed?"  
"No, it's not gonna bleed. Just pull the damn thing."  
Without warning, he ripped my hair from the ring, bringing tears to my eyes.  
A horrified look crossed his face as he held up the chunk of my hair he just ripped out.  
I held my hand up to the raw spot, wiping away a tear.  
"Just throw it away." I told him.  
Disgustedly, he took the hair and threw it in the trash. "That's nasty."  
"Happens more often than you think."  
"Ew."

 

A little while later, Aunt May came through the door.  
"Hey, loves. Oh, we have the whole crew today."  
"Hey, Aunt May." We called in response from the couch where we were doing our homework.  
"Multitasking, I see." she said, pointing to the TV playing FRIENDS.  
"It's background noise." I assured her. But Ned was glued to the screen.  
Her keys jingled as she hung them up on the rack. "Takeout okay with you guys?"  
"Yeah." We replied in unison.  
"What's that smell?" She asked, waving her hand in front of her nose.  
"Y/N burnt a grilled cheese." Michelle replied casually.  
She looked at me with pity. "Oh, hon, I burn meals more often than not." She said, laughing. I had witnessed a few.  
"How was work?" I asked, giving her a light hug.  
"It was... work. You know. How was your day, love?"  
"It was... School. You know. And I managed to burn a sandwich and rip out a chunk of my hair in less than two minutes, so that was a plus."  
She laughed. "Sorry."

"Y/N, get your ass over here and help us finish Ned's essay." Michelle ordered.  
"Right away, madam." I replied sarcastically. I leaped over the back of the couch and plopped down next to Peter. "What are we stuck on?" I asked.  
"We're not exactly sure on how to phrase this. Should it be 'Therefore, Darwin's theory remains a theory without complete physical proof.' Or-"  
My phone buzzed. "Hold on, hold on." I said, cutting her off. Everyone felt chatty today, I guess.  
It was a text from Flash.  
"Still on for the party tomorrow night?"  
I already told him yes. Why did he feel the need to bug me about it again?  
"Yeah"  
"What are you going as?"  
"Leia"  
"Cool"  
I groaned. The last thing I wanted was a dry-ass conversation with one of my least favorite people, especially while trying to do homework.  
I turned my phone from vibrate to silent and stuck in in my pocket.  
"Ned, we would really appreciate your help. It is your essay." I commented.  
He peeled his eyes from the screen. "But Chandler and Monica are about to kiss." He whined.  
I grabbed the remote and clicked the off button. "And you're about to get an F on this."  
"Fine." He huffed.

Somehow we all managed to finish our homework and fall asleep in the most ridiculous but comfortable ways.

...

I woke up to the sound of whipping curtains and blinding sunlight.  
"Up and at 'em, kiddos." May said.  
I sat up, my entire back stiff. I had fallen asleep draped over both sides of the recliner.  
I don't really remember getting there.  
The others were sitting up and shading their eyes from the morning sun. Peter's hair stood up straight all around his head.  
Realizing what I had little time to do, I raced to the shower, not bothering to grab any clothes. 

I loved showering off that sweaty couch feeling.  
As I bathed, I mulled over the dinner. I was really, really nervous to meet Pepper. I mean, I'd most likely spill or drop or break something, and then she'd see me as the clumsy weirdo Tony picked up off the street.  
Maybe she wouldn't like me. Maybe she wouldn't like the way I dress, or talk, or laugh -  
Tony's voice interrupted my thoughts. "She's gonna love you."  
"I sure hope you're right, Mr. Stark." I muttered.

...

School felt five hours longer than usual.

I got dress coded for wearing a tanktop underneath a jacket so I had to wear a gym shirt all day. Flash wouldn't stop throwing bits of paper at me in History.  
Lunch was a breath of fresh air.

"Hey guys." I said somberly, sitting down at our usual table.  
"What's wrong?" Peter asked.  
"Everything. This shirt smells eternally like sweat and Flash won't leave me alone."  
"Oh. Sorry, then." He replied.  
"Y/N, look at me." Michelle ordered.  
I looked up at her in confusion. She studied my eyes intently.  
"Are your eyes different colors?" She asked.  
"Oh, yeah. This one's brown, but this one's orange."  
She looked closer. "Woah! I can't believe I never noticed that before!"  
"Let me see." Ned said, leaning halfway over the table to get a better look. "Oh my god. That's really cool, Y/N."  
"Some days it's more noticeable." I informed them.

"What's more noticeable?" Flash asked, walking up to our table. Jesus Christ, this kid did not know how to leave people alone!  
"Her eyes are different colors." Ned told him, still staring at me.  
Suddenly Flash got really close. "Huh. They are. That's cool."  
He reeked of some overly expensive cologne.  
"Did you guys see the AD team list for this year?" He asked.  
I already knew my name was on it, but I wanted to see who else was coming.  
"No." I replied.  
He pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket and waved it around.  
"The Academic Decathlon team for this year is : Flash Thompson, Y/N L/N, Peter Parker, Michelle Jones, Ned Leeds, Abe Attah, Sally Amara, and Satana Harvey." He read proudly.  
"Santana Harvey?" I asked. I hadn't really learned the names of the rest of the people on the team quite yet.  
"Brunette in the yellow shirt over there." Flash pointed to a table a couple of feet from ours. I recognized her from Engish. She was really pretty.  
"Good team this year." He commented. "Alright, see you guys tonight." He waved and walked away.  
"Oughta be pretty fun this year." Michelle said, twirling her fork between her fingers.  
"Yeah." Peter replied absently.  
"You good, Peter?" I asked him quietly.  
He looked up from his tray. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." he gave me a small smile and got up to throw away his trash.  
Weird.

...

Somehow, after a long and mind-numbingly boring day, we got out of school and, after shopping for our costumes, made it back to the apartment to put them on.

"I don't know, guys. Does this look right?" I asked, stepping out of the bathroom in a long, white robe thing.  
"Looks great." Ned replied, sliding on his Chewbacca mask.  
"I feel more like a ghost."  
"I'm about to do your hair. Just give me a second." MJ replied, adjusting her helmet.  
Peter walked out of the hallway in his costume, messing with a tendril of hair that wouldn't stay gelled down.  
"Ooh, Peter, that looks good." I told him, ignoring the fluttering in my chest.  
"Thank you." He replied, grinning.  
"Okay, Y/N, sit down." Michelle said.  
"MJ, I didn't know you knew how to do hair."  
"What are you saying?"  
"Oh, no, no, no, I didn't mean-"  
"I'm just messing with you. Calm down. I have sisters." She said, chuckling as she tugged the brush through my hair.  
"Has anyone seen my gun?" Peter asked, searching frantically around the living room.  
"Here." Ned replied, holding it up. Peter grabbed it and shoved it in his holster. "Thanks."  
Michelle braided my hair faster than I knew was humanly possible, and somehow still had time to braid her own.  
Incredible.

...

Walking up to the party, despite the boss feeling of looking awesome, I felt nervous. Like, hand-shaking, heart-racing nervous. Flash would probably assault me with his obnoxious questions and insults. Not to mention Peter was being weird - was it about the kiss?  
Oh crap. Right, that happened.  
That happened.  
Great, now I was more nervous.

"Hey, Y/N! Nice costume." Someone I didn't know told me as I brushed past them.  
"Oh, uh, thanks." I replied quickly.  
Damn, Flash's house was huge. I knew his parents were rich, but not this rich.  
A guy dressed as a football player, who I was later told was the captain of the football team, winked at me. Ew.

We made it to the kitchen, and Michelle immediately started rummaging through their fridge.  
"Y/N! You made it!" Flash called from across the kitchen. I swear I saw Peter roll his eyes at the sight of his Matrix costume.  
"Hey, Flash." I yelled over the blasting music.  
"You guys look good." He commented, scanning our group.  
The feeling of wanting to leave rushed over me. I wouldn't have to stay much longer, just stick it out, I told myself.  
"Thanks." I mumbled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I glanced at Peter.  
"Something wrong?" He mouthed.  
"I don't want to be here." I whispered into his ear.  
"I hate to say I told you so..." He replied. I rolled my eyes. He was of no help.

I found a bowl of candy laying around and stuffed a couple handfuls into the large pockets of my robe. Might as well.  
"I saw that." Flash said behind me. It seemed to be that he couldn't actually come up and talk to me. He always had to be behind me.  
I turned around, opening a Reese's cup. "And?"  
He shrugged. "I don't care. I didn't bring it, anyway."  
Leave. Me. Alone.  
"So you're on the AD team this year, huh?"  
He didn't seem to take the hint I was internally trying to give him.  
"Yeah, I am." I replied shortly, finishing my candy and reaching for another.  
"Your first time?"  
"Uh huh."  
"Oughta be fun. More fun than last year, at least. Parker wasn't even there for most of it. Kept disappearing." He said, adjusting his pitch-black sunglasses.  
"That's odd." I answered flatly.  
"He's odd. Why do you hang out with him, anyway?"  
Now I was prepared to give more than a three-word answer.  
"Number one, he's my best friend. Not to mention I live with him. Number two, he's a lot of fun and you might actually like him if you weren't always making fun of him."  
"Eh." Was his simple reply.  
Whatever. I was done. 

I wandered around the huge house, pushing past groups of people to find Peter.  
I finally found him talking to that girl, Santana, in the dining room.  
She said something I couldn't catch and he laughed. An unchecked wave of jealousy surged over me, taking me by surprise.  
"Hey Peter? I need to talk to you." I said, walking up to him.  
"Oh, uh, okay. One second, Santana." He told her.  
She smiled sweetly. "Yeah, sure."  
She was too pretty when she smiled. I didn't like it. Why where her teeth so perfectly straight? I bet she had braces. Big, chunky, ugly ones.  
God, she would probably still look pretty with braces.

I pulled Peter a couple of feet away.  
"Um, I hate to ditch early, but..."  
Crap. I completely forgot to tell him about the dinner. He would probably be jealous. Maybe even get mad at me.  
"... But I'm not feeling too good. I think I'm gonna go home."  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll call Aunt May."  
"No, no, no, it's okay. I don't want her to go out of her way. I'll just get an Uber."  
"You sure?"  
"Yeah, I'm sure. Tell Ned and MJ."  
"Alright. Hope you feel better." He said, patting my shoulder as he walked back towards Santana. 

I slipped out of the front door, hid by the fence, and teleported to my room.  
Quickly, I took down my braids, emptied my pockets, and changed into a gray t-shirt, a black skirt, and white converse, making sure that Aunt May wouldn't hear me from the living room.

I closed my eyes and teleported to Mr. Stark's office at the compound.  
Opening my eyes, the room around me spun. I guess it was farther than I thought.  
Shaking my head, I stumbled out of his office and bumped into someone in the hallway.  
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry." I mumbled. Looking up, I saw the guy I sparred with my first day here.  
"Sam?" I asked, my head finally settling.  
"Oh, hey, you're that girl that... I let kick my ass that one time." He said sassily.  
"Uh, I kicked your ass perfectly well by myself." I replied, crossing my arms against my chest.  
"I'll let you have it."  
"Uh huh. Where's Tony?"  
"In the kitchen. Don't go bumping into anyone else on the way there."  
I rolled my eyes and made my way to the kitchen.

"Oh! Y/N! You're here! Uh, dinner's almost ready. Pepper!" he called into the dining room.  
"Is she here?" A woman's voice called back.  
"Yeah, come here!"  
My heart sped up. All of a sudden my legs got jittery and I knew that if I moved, I would trip. So I stood as still as humanly possible.  
A tall, strawberry blonde, gorgeous lady walked out of the dining room in a flowy blue dress, her smile radiating kindness. Immediately all nervousness just melted away.  
"Hi, Y/N, I'm Pepper." She said sweetly, sticking out her hand.  
I shook it lightly. "Nice to meet you." I replied, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.  
"Tony, why don't you guys sit down, and I'll bring dinner in there?"  
"Yeah." He agreed, waving me towards the dining room.

"What do you think?" He asked once we had sat down.  
"She's... Gorgeous."  
"I know." He breathed.  
"How did you land someone like her?" I asked jokingly, prodding him with my elbow.  
He raised an eyebrow at me. "Money. No, no, I'm just kidding. Honestly, I don't know. I really don't deserve her." He said, looking dreamily towards the kitchen.  
"Aww."  
"Anyway." he said, shaking his head. "How was this party?"  
"Uneventful." I replied simply.  
"Who threw it?"  
"Peter ever tell you about that kid, Flash?"  
"Him?"  
"Yeah."  
"I thought you guys hated Flash."  
"Well, we had nothing else to do tonight, so."  
Pepper walked in with a huge bowl in each hand and set them down on the table. "I'll be right back." She assured me as she hurried back into the kitchen.  
"What did you guys go as?" Tony asked.  
"I was Leia, Peter was Han Solo, Ned was..." My sentence trailed off as something red caught my eye. I could see it though the window - it was on the side of the building. A little blinking red light. I heard a faint clicking noise.  
Oh shit.  
I jumped up, grabbing Mr. Stark and teleporting us to the kitchen. "Tony--!"  
Boom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the cliffhanger this chapter will be continued next week!! ;)
> 
> HEY THIS IS IMPORTANT
> 
> So remember last week when i told yall about that fic i was writing? Yeah well I'm unstable and indecisive so I deleted it  
> Sorry to the 2 people that read it 
> 
> Anyway now I'm writing a super cute and fluffy Maze Runner AU so go check it out we'll see how long it lasts
> 
>  
> 
> AND ALSO A HUGE SHOUTOUT TO MY BIGGEST AND LOVELIEST READER Queen_Belix WHO HAS SUPPORTED ME IN EVERY ENDEAVOR AND KEPT ME WRITING  
> GIRL ILYSM AND MAY BLESSINGS BE UPON YOU  
> ～(^з^)-♡


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